Holiday Lights
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Life Unexpected verse. Three holiday seasons with Mary Margaret and David: one before they have sex at Ruby's party, one after Emma comes to visit and one in their bright future.
1. Chapter 1

**Takes place in my Life Unexpected verse. The first one is a prequel, the second is a midquel and the third is a future shot.'**

Mrs. Drake had been teaching home economics for 25 years, a fact she was more than happy to repeat to the freshmen students at Storybrooke Day School. Secret Santa was a proud tradition, not caring that a certain percentage of the school didn't celebrate Christmas.

"You can consider it Secret Hanukkah Harry," she told Mary Margaret when she complained about the activity.

Mary Margaret resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but didn't push any further. She knew if she asked Regina or Leopold, they'd likely kick up a fuss, but she didn't want to be that kid. Besides, it wasn't like she had to go shopping or anything. The point of the activity was to make something in class, as they had been learning.

When the Santa hat reached her, Mary Margaret drew her slip of paper before passing it over to Kathryn. She looked down at the slip of the paper and tilted her head, reading David Nolan's name on it. She barely knew him, just that he was a scholarship student in her class and had made varsity football despite being a freshman. If she had to get either of the Nolan twins, she supposed she'd rather it be David. James was in the same class and he spent it constantly teasing the other girls and burning the treats they made. Even so, she wasn't sure what it was he would like.

She spent the next few days, sleuthing through his LiveJournal and found out that he lived on a farm. A lot of the pictures were with his dog and the sheep. While it seemed that James tended to the horses, David tended to the cuddly creatures a bit more. Johanna had taught her crocheting before she even started home economics, so she had a pretty good idea of what she wanted to do.

Mary Margaret brought the yarn in, using the hooks that Mrs. Drake provided. She kept trying to move closer to David to get to know him a bit more, but it was almost as if he was avoiding her. Every time she tried to ask him a question, he'd go off in another direction. Mary Margaret frowned. She wasn't the most popular girl in school, but she wasn't a complete loser. Even if she had been, David was normally so nice to everyone. A part of her wanted to throw out her project, but that wouldn't be fair to him. So, she continued working on the stuffed animal, adding button eyes when it called for it.

A few weeks later, she brought in her wrapped gift. Regina had bought Christmas wrapping so her gift wouldn't stand out against the sea of Santas and Ruldophs. She was surprised to see, however, that the gift addressed to her was wrapped in blue and silver. It had little menorahs and chocolate coins all over it, clearly handmade and yet so beautiful, definitely standing out. She grinned as she picked it up and slowly unwrapped it. Her eyes widened and she felt a tiny gasp escape her lips when she found what was inside.

There was a star of David made of scrap metal, polished to look brand new. It hung on a piece of leather with a pretty handmade clasp. Most people didn't respect her heritage, she had been teased when she was younger for being one of the few kids for not believing Santa Claus. Who would've done something like this for her?

Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and found David standing there, holding the crocheted lamb she had made him. "Hey."

"Hey. Do you um, do you like it?"

"I love it, thank you. How did you know the sheep were my favorite animal?"

Heat tinged her cheeks. "I spied on your LiveJournal."

He chuckled. "Well, it's perfect." He eyed the necklace in her hand. "Did you um…did you like your necklace?"

Mary Margaret looked from it, to back up at his anxious face. She suddenly put two and two together.

"This was from you?"

"Did I forget to put my name inside?"

"Guess so."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry. Also, I'm sorry if it's not right, I tried looking up what they looked like in the books, but I don't know…"

"It's perfect," Mary Margaret cut him off. "But how did you know?"

"I remember your mom brought latkes in that one time, she told us all about the story of Hanukkah. It was a lot of fun."

Not all of the kids had thought so. They had impatiently waited until they could eat and then move onto the Christmas part of the holiday celebration. "Oh. Wow. I can't believe this…even my friends won't celebrate Hanukkah with me."

"Well, I wanted to change that."

"Thank you, David," she said sincerely. "I love this, I really do."

"You're welcome. Happy Hanukkah."

She smiled. "Merry Christmas."


	2. Chapter 2

**Takes place about a month ahead of where we are in the main story right now, as I won't be covering the holidays in that fic.**

Mary Margaret grinned as she pulled the holiday box out of the closet. Even before Emma moved in, she always decorated her apartment. Emma was excited for her first Hanukkah, she had never celebrated before and had been surprised to find out that she was Jewish. It was the first of December, which meant that Mary Margaret felt confident in decorating. She pulled out the menorah, the very one that had been passed down on her mother's side of the family for generations.

After Leopold kicked her out, she had waited for him to go to work one day and use her old key to get back in. Johanna had pretended not to see her, so she could do so. Leopold had his own, made of fancy gold. Eva's was handmade, the cracks from where air got in the clay were clear. She kept having to replace the wicks every year, but she wouldn't change a thing about it. Her mother had loved the holiday so much and now, Mary Margaret couldn't wait to share it with her own daughter.

Things with Emma were still slightly tense, even after they both had opened up more to one another. Her daughter still didn't trust her and she couldn't blame her, she should've gone to her instead of Katie. There was no going back now, so she just had to prove that she was trying to be a good mom. Even so, Emma was in a better mood since it was the holiday season and that made Mary Margaret happy.

Mary Margaret placed the menorah on the windowsill, putting up some other blue and silver decorations. When she reached the bottom of the box, she frowned a bit, noticing something that normally stayed buried. It was the necklace that David had given her during the gift exchange back in high school. She lifted it out and traced her fingers over the star.

A knock at the door nearly caused her to jump out of her skin. "It's open!" She called, setting it down.

David walked in, wearing his heavy winter coat, his cheeks and nose pink from the chilly Maine winter air. "Hey."

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to stop by…" He paused as he looked around. "Wow, you're getting all set for Hanukkah."

"Just a few days away."

David nodded with a smile. "Emma is so excited, she's never had a Hanukkah before."

"Apparently she hasn't had a proper Christmas in a while either."

"About that…I know you got her on Thanksgiving which was fine because my mom still wasn't really talking to me back then…but I was hoping maybe I could have her Christmas Day."

Mary Margaret bit her lip. "Oh?"

"It's just, my moms are having everyone over. It's Belle's year to have Gideon and it's our first Christmas with Drew and Emma. Killian and Alice always come too, since they have no other family. Plus, I know you don't really celebrate, right? She said you told her about Regina's Christmas Eve party, but they're going to his mom's on the day of."

That was true. Growing up, Mary Margaret had never celebrated Christmas. Even after her father married Regina, who came from a prominent Catholic family, Hanukkah was the only holiday celebrated in their house. It wasn't until Regina married Robin that Mary Margaret started celebrating alongside them, but only on Christmas Eve. They had a White Elephant gift exchange, ate lots of yummy food and Robin always read "The Night Before Christmas".

The day of, Mary Margaret always went to the movies and got Chinese food. It was the tradition that Eva had started when she was a little girl and she had been hoping to do the same with Emma. It'd be nice to have someone to sit with again.

"You've already talked to her about it?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Just what her plans were. I figured I'd ask you first before inviting her. We don't really have this figured out."

"No, we don't."

"Look, if you guys have plans…"

"It's fine, you can take her."

"Thank you." David paused for a minute. "You know, you're welcome to come too. Eudora is probably going to make so much food and I know Belle would love to see you again. She says you used to babysit her."

"I did, but um…I think it'd be best if I didn't."

"Mare…"

"It's important you have your time with Emma. I have all of Hanukkah, plus Christmas Eve with her. Maybe she should even spend the night at your place, once we're done at Regina's. That way you two can have the whole day together."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Mary Margaret faked a smile. "I am."

That was how, come Christmas day, Mary Margaret found herself sitting in the middle aisle of a mostly empty theater. The latest Disney film played out on screen and she balanced the pork fried rice that she had snuck in on her lap besides the egg rolls. She got a text message from Emma, showing the presents she had gotten from David and his family. It was all a subtle reminder of their reality. They were a family, but not in the way that they could've been.


	3. Chapter 3

**Takes place a couple of years in the future of this verse.**

Mary Margaret grinned as she watched Emma unwrap the tiny box that contained a set of keys. The young girl looked up at the two of them, her eyes wide.

"Wait…is this what I think it is?"

David tilted his head towards the door. "Why don't we go find out?"

Emma would've raced out the door, if not for Mary Margaret reminding her to put on her boots first. David and Mary Margaret laughed, watching as she tripped over herself to pull on her boots, followed by her jacket. They casually slipped on their own things, following their 17-year-old out the door. There in the driveway was a yellow Volkswagen bug, with a shiny red bow on top of it. Emma started dancing around, squealing. She had finally gotten her driver's license not long after her birthday and had been saving up for a car with her shifts at Granny's. After much discussion, Mary Margaret and David decided they would buy one for her.

"Is this for real?" Emma asked.

David nodded. "It is. We'll pay for half the insurance. You'll owe the rest, plus gas."

"And you have to be a responsible driver," Mary Margaret added. "Any tickets and this car gets taken away."

"I'll be responsible! I promise!" She threw her arms around her mom, followed by her dad. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, Princess," David said, kissing the top of her head. "Come on, it's cold out, you can text all your friends later. Let's go back inside and finish up the gifts."

Mary Margaret trailed behind David, who had his arm wrapped tightly around Emma. She tried not to think about two holiday seasons prior when their lives had been in such disarray. A lot had changed in two years. Some things were said that could never be taken back and many fights were had, but somehow they came out of all of it together. They lived under one roof, a house settled near the edge of town.

They had celebrated Hanukkah earlier in the month together and now Mary Margaret found herself not just celebrating Christmas Eve, but the actual holiday as well. They had gone to Regina and Robin's the night before, and would be heading to Ruth and Eudora's later that day to see their entire family. Mary Margaret had once felt so alone and now she was surrounded by so many people that loved and cared about her. She hadn't heard from her father in almost a year and a half, making her finally free of him. Emma still felt guilty about him coming back into their lives, but Mary Margaret made sure that she always knew that it wasn't her fault.

While Emma was opening up some of her candy, Mary Margaret lead David to the couch, the two settling down side by side. He gently kissed her and she smiled at him, stroking his chin.

"I have a present for you," she whispered.

"I thought you gave that to me last night."

Mary Margaret rolled her eyes and poked him in the ribs, before reaching down under the tree and a tiny wrapped box to him. "Open it."

David did as he was told and unwrapped the gift. He lifted the lid on the white box and his eyes widened at the contents: a pregnancy test lit up with the word "Pregnant". He looked up at Mary Margaret, mouth dropped.

"Is this…I mean, are you…"

"Yeah," she said, her voice cracking a bit. "I am."

"Oh my God. Oh my God!"

He cupped her cheeks and kissed her passionately. The two had been trying ever since their wedding night, but it hadn't happened. Now, there it was.

Emma looked up from the wrapped gift in her hand. "What's going on?"

Mary Margaret smiled at her, tears in her eyes. "You're going to be a big sister."

Emma dropped the gift and rushed over to them. "Seriously?!" She looked down at the test herself and a huge smile broke out across her face. "I'm getting a little brother!"

"It could be a girl."

"It's gonna be a boy," Emma and David said, nearly at the same time.

Mary Margaret laughed in spite of her tears, feeling Emma's arms thrown around her neck. Maybe she could get used to Christmas after all.


End file.
